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Licensure Information

Per
Wis. Stat. § 440.08 (2), the required renewal date for the Marriage and Family Therapist credential is 02/28/odd years. Should you receive your initial credential in the months leading up to this date, you are still required to renew your license by the statutorily defined date.

Requirements

Basic requirements necessary to obtain those credentials include the completion of the following:

A Master's or Doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy from a regionally accredited institution.

A Master's or Doctoral degree in a field with coursework substantially equivalent to marriage and family therapy.

Completion of post-graduate supervised practice.

At least 3000 hours of post-graduate supervised experience including at least 1000 hours of face-to-face client contact. You must apply for and be issued a training license in order to accrue your 3,000 hours. (see instructions for training license listed below)

Completion of the appropriate application forms(s) including all required documentation and fees. Applications must be completed 90 days prior to the national exam date.

Examination in Marital and Family Therapy

The Marriage and Family Section reviews applications and makes a determination of eligibility to take the National Examination. You may be given information regarding the state and national exams upon receipt of application and appropriate fees.

Temporary License

An applicant who completes all of the requirements for licensure except for passing the national exam may obtain a temporary license valid for up to 9 months from the date of its issuance, and it may be renewed once upon receipt of a written request and any required renewal fee.

If a temporary license is returned to the Department prior to its expiration along with a written request that it be placed on hold, the temporary license may later be reissued to the holder for the remainder of the 9-month period

Training License

A marriage and family therapist training license allows an individual who has received a Master's or Doctorate degree in marriage and family therapy or its equivalent and who is in a position, or has an offer of a position, to work as a marriage and family therapist in a supervised clinical marriage and family therapy practice or in a position in which the applicant will, in the opinion of the marriage and family therapist section, receive training and supervision equivalent to the training and supervision received in a supervised marriage and family therapy practice.

A marriage and family therapist training license is valid for 48 months. The training license may be renewed at the discretion of the Marriage and Family Therapist Section.

Pre-Credential Education

An applicant for licensure as a marriage & family therapist must hold one of the following:

A master's or doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy from a regionally accredited institution
;

A master's or doctoral degree in a field with coursework substantially equivalent to marriage and family therapy from a regionally accredited institution;

Clinical membership in the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

Renewal Information

SIG (Signature regarding the completion of Continuing Education, included in on-line renewal and paper form see Continuing Education Information for details)

If your legal status as a qualified alien or nonimmigrant lawfully present in the United States has changed since the issuance of your credential or your last renewal, please contact the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services at (608) 266-2112 or
dsps@wisconsin.gov.

This Act extends the license of a service member if the license expires while they are on active duty from 90 days to 180 days from the date of discharge. The same applies to a spouse of a service member if the spouse does not practice under their license while the service member is on active duty and does not practice because the service member is on active duty.

This Act repeals a provision of prior law that required a service member to meet all of the requirements for license extension or renewal, except for continuing education requirements, in order to have the license extended.

Service members and spouses may request extensions of licenses beyond 180 days from discharge and may request a waiver or extension of time to complete continuing education requirements due to hardship. Please view Active Duty/Discharge Renewal Extension Form #R210.